


Sometimes, a Family Is

by CrystalRoza19, NeonCrayons



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: (More tags may be added later if i think i need any more), F/M, Gen, Highly anti-Steve- so anyone who likes him should steer clear, I did actual research on divorce for this, Loki is a good friend, M/M, Michelle is also in favor of Arson, ModernAU with MCU Science, Ned and Liz as the voices of reason, Nobody knows, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, PTSD, Panic Attacks, References to Abuse, Sam is a good bro and laying down some hard truths, Shuri x Fire, Stephen might be in a cult..., Teenagers playing d&d, but i make it work!, minor blood and injury, or is he joking?, this story is an amalgumation of our world and the MCU... it's a bit of a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18117524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRoza19/pseuds/CrystalRoza19, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonCrayons/pseuds/NeonCrayons
Summary: Sometimes a family is comprised of you, your recently divorced dad, an unruly group of teenagers and a semi-unemployed former world-class neurosurgeon…Peter Stark hoped that moving back to the city would help his father get passed all the struggles and animosity that plagued him after his divorce. What he hadn't thought to hope for was a way for his father to move on; he’d always had a hard time letting people go, after all.Stephen Strange was everything Steve Rogers was not. Maybe he could be everything Tony Stark needed to heal his broken heart. Throw in an unruly group of teenagers and you have yourself a family.





	1. Housing Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

> So this is our entry for the 2018/19 IronDad Big Bang! 
> 
> Crystal and I have absolutely pored our heart and souls into this fic, it's the first fully complete fic we've ever worked on together (one-shots not counted) and we're so excited to finally post it. we've been sitting on this since late November just waiting to post it! 
> 
> we also had the absolute delight to work with the artist @Tk-a on Tumblr & .K on Discord who has made a beautiful pair of drawings for the fic!! links will be added to chapters they come from!!!
> 
> Betaed by @bettername2come & @jessicagoddamnjoans over on Tumblr!

Peter hated moving.

He hated everything about it; from the exhausting notion of going through customs at the airport, to the horror of having to deal with new school teachers who got math wrong (an unforgivable deed, in his personal opinion). It also meant he had to deal with packing, unpacking, and finding new homes for everything he owned.

It was just _the worst._

But, above all, the reason the move was even more loathsome than it already was, is because that meant someone had hurt his dad. And if there was _anything_ in the world Tony Stark could not deal with, it was living amongst the past. And so now, they were back to living in the center of New York.

Though as Peter looked around his new home, he had to admit the penthouse _was_ beautiful, and right in the innermost hub of the city. Both father and son had missed the lights and sounds of the city during the years they spent living in the suburbs. And while the reason for moving might not have been the best, they were glad to be back where they belong.

One thing for sure, Peter was glad they didn’t have to organise everything on their own. Happy had finally finished ordering the movers around the new place not too long ago, and Miss Friday was now explaining where all the boxes had to go- which ones went down to the lab and which ones went to whose rooms. Peter was so happy she was there; just thinking about not having her around was already giving him a migraine. Images of him and his father stumbling around, lost, while they tried to set the place up alone invaded his mind. Knowing them, they would have probably just given up and sat on their swivel chairs, eating takeout over the sink and living out of half unpacked boxes forever. Shrugging, he shook the thought off. It was _really_ a good thing they were there to help.

Friday was walking towards the door when Peter entered the newly furnished living room, her forehead creased as she typed furiously on her StarkTab. He’d come over to see if he could help with anything, but it seemed that everything had already been taken care of. Miss Friday snapped her head up and paused when she sensed his presence, her face lighting up.

“Peter! Wonderful to have you back. All of your boxes have been organized in your new bedroom and study. Did you want to set them up yourself or would you like me to add them to the list?” She chirped, tendrils of hair escaping her neatly bunched bun at the back of her head. He could see the weariness in the way her collar was slightly crumpled but she hid it in her usual signature composure.

Pondering for a moment, Peter decided he'd rather know where everything in his room was without having to hunt through someone else's organization. Besides, he wanted to give her a break as a thank you for helping them out, even if it _was_ her job.

“Just the furniture Miss Friday, I'll do the rest,” he dismissed with a quick smile and nod. If Friday looked relieved or satisfied, Peter didn’t notice as she ducked her head back to work on her tablet, walking out of the room.

Grabbing his phone off the marble bench top he'd left it on when he went to go help his father with the installation of JARVIS in the lab, he quickly found himself a spot out of the way to check his notifications. There were several messages from MJ, all little sketches of him in various poses of distress surrounded by boxes. She'd put things like “you” or “mood” next to most of them.

He grinned at the exaggeration of her cartoon version of his ‘predicament’, knowing the affection tucked behind it. Picking up a small empty box sitting in the corner, he took a quick selfie with it that said “Yeet” and sent it to her.

There were also a few snaps from Ned and Shuri as well as a message from Liz, but he could get to them later. Apparently, everybody wanted to check up on him despite only seeing them recently. The mention of the Starks’ move was received with various reactions from his friends but mostly with understanding. Peter was just grateful that none of them had started treating him as if he was fragile.

After going through all his notifications and seeing that he had no new emails, he pocketed his phone with a sigh. The living room felt cold-- no, the _entire penthouse_ felt cold, and not because of the weather. On the contrary, it was actually a pretty sunny day. It just doesn’t feel like _home_ yet. Soon, the dull walls started to feel stuffy, so he headed for the elevator to go and pick up something from the Starbucks he saw around the corner on their way to the penthouse. After that, he might head back to the lab and see if his dad still needed a hand with anything.

It was gonna be a _long_ day.

**\---**

Back at the building, Peter rushed towards the elevator just as a dark haired teenager was entering. He could feel the liquid contents inside the warm cup sloshing as he held it in his hand.

“Hold the door!” he called out quickly, his shoes squeaking against the floor. The person startled and looked Peter’s way. When he saw the other teen, he rolled his eyes but nonetheless hit the button to keep the doors open. _God bless nice people._

Peter finally slid inside and brushed the hair sticking to his forehead back. “Thanks!” he said brightly, bouncing slightly in delight while making sure none of his precious coffee spilled.

“What floor?” the other sighed. Peter was about to answer when he noticed the other pull out a card to access the penthouse.

“Penthouse, same as you I guess?” Another nod was the only response.

This particular building had three penthouse suites on its top floor. Tony Stark had bought P1 along with half of the floor below, which admittedly hadn't been easily acquired: he had to buy out from many of the floors’ occupants, and many had been a hard sell. But Tony had a lot of money, and was generally able find a nice round number that could make almost anyone sell him something if he wanted it enough. And seeing as how he wanted this building to be their new home, he knew there was no point calling it such without their lab- so after he bought what he needed, construction had started the very next day.

Utter silence permeated the elevator. Restlessly, Peter drummed his fingers on his jean-clad legs while simultaneously scratching the side of the cup using his index finger. He glanced at his companion, who just stared at the changing red digits on top of the doors, seemingly intent on ignoring him. Deeming the quiet too awkward and being the friendly person that he was, Peter finally broke the stillness.

“I'm Peter by the way,” he introduced himself, figuring that was a good place to start. “Peter Stark. My dad and I are the ones moving in up there.”

That got a response. The other boy raised his eyebrow. “That's you?” he asked in surprise.

Peter nodded. The other teen hummed, eyeing him for a while. Peter, suddenly self-conscious, fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Sensing the discomfort his assessment was giving, the brunette finally looked away. “My brother and I were wondering who had _that_ kind of money and strings to buy out that many tenants.

A dark blush found its way onto Peter’s face at that comment. Just great. First day in a new neighborhood and he already gave the impression that he was an arrogant rich kid. He didn’t mean to imply anything, because he never liked people who assumed to know him based only on what his bank accounts said instead of him as a person.

“Yeah… that was us,” he confirmed in embarrassment, rubbing at the nape of his neck. When the other teen saw his reaction, he forgot the somewhat entertaining show of blinking floor numbers he was invested not just a minute ago, and leaned himself against the back of the elevator, watching Peter in amusement.

“I'm Loki. My brother and I are in P3.” Peter nodded politely. Now that they introduced themselves, they fell into a semi comfortable silence; both watching one another until the elevator reached the top floor. Loki let Peter go first and followed after him. Reaching his door before him, the other teen said goodbye to Peter with a smile and a flirty wink before entering his apartment. Just as the door closed, Peter heard a man’s voice greeting Loki in a foreign language.

With that interesting encounter over, Peter made his way into his own apartment and down towards the lab to see his dad.

**\---**

Tony sighed in annoyance. He was under the workbench in his lab, trying to plug different cords and wires into the right ports to get the holographic tabletop working, but it was taking far longer than he expected. Though…. that was probably because last time he’d had to do it, Tony’d had help with setting the whole thing up.

But things were different now.

It was supposed to be a new beginning; with a new house and a new lab, and the _last_ thing Tony wanted to think about was Steve and the reason they had moved in the first place.

So no, any and _all_ thoughts that had to do with Rogers were firmly locked away in a box, hidden in the deepest and dark parts his mind where they would _never_ see the light of day again. Or so Tony told himself as he forced his attention back to the task he was trying to do, shaking his head to clear his mind.

Now, if only these _stupid wires_ would cooperate with him.

Eventually, he finished plugging in the last of the cords and with relief, Tony heard the telltale signs of everything inside the lab coming to life.

“JARVIS, run a full system diagnostic. I want to make sure everything is running at 100%, ‘kay buddy?” Tony called out to his A.I., wheeling himself out from under the workbench.

 _“_ **_Of course, sir. Scanning now_ ** _.”_

After wiping his sweaty hands on a rag, Tony absently stretched an arm over to the table for his coffee, wanting something to drink while he waited for the scan to be complete, but his fingers grasped only air. Seeing that his mug wasn’t in its usual position, he realised that he must have forgotten it upstairs when he went to go hide down in the lab; a fact that he reprimanded himself for now that he had none of the vital caffeinated beverage. It was practically a life-and-death situation.

 _‘Maybe Peter could go get some,’_ Tony thought to himself, but then dismissed it. ‘ _The kid is probably still adjusting to the move...’_ Sighing, he decided to just command JARVIS to also get the coffee pot running, hoping that Friday had it already set up. Thankfully, the A.I had just finished the scan

 _“_ **_All systems are running at optimum capacity. All data are accounted for,_ **” the omnipresent voice announced

“Awesome! Now JARVIS, coffee. I need--” But he didn’t get to finish, as just at that moment, he heard his son call out.

“Daaaad! I come bearing gifts!” Already, Tony could smell the delicious scent of freshly roasted coffee beans from the brewery of whatever cafe his son had wandered off to. He grinned, jumping to his feet and making a beeline for the door. Peter always knew the perfect time to show up.

His son stepped into the lab, carrying the beverages in his hand, an adorable beaming smile on his face. The look sort of reminded Tony of a proud puppy, he noted in amusement.

“Welcome back!” Tony greeted him. He gestured excitedly to the lab, glad he managed to have successfully completed the setup of all the lab computers and holopads to show Peter. The room was still only half-together but it looked much, much better than before Peter had wandered off earlier.

“Now all I have to do is get the tools and equipment I need to build my tech. Everything else can wait until we’re all settled in upstairs,” he finished telling him.

Handing over the coffee and tossing the bag of donuts he also bought onto the nearest clear bench space, Peter dropped down onto the chair to his left.

“By the way, I think one of our new neighbors might have been flirting with me. So, that's a thing now,” The teenager casually announced. Surprised, Tony laughed, almost choking on his drink. He loved the flippant way Peter reacted to people flirting with him.

“Is MJ gonna have to come over and establish dominance? Or do you think you can let him down easy that you’re already happily taken?” He replied jokingly.

Peter just rolled his eyes and sipped at his own cup. The two sat ther _e_ a while longer, finishing off their beverages and food in comfortable silence, content to just bask in the calmness that each other’s presence brought. Soon though, his son got up and threw his empty paper cup into the trash, calling out to Jarvis on his way back.

“JARVIS, give us some AC/DC would you? This machinery isn’t gonna put itself together.” He rubbed his palms together and went to stand beside Tony with a nod of determination as if to say _‘_ Let’s do this thing! _’_

Obediently, JARVIS started playing ‘Back in Black’. Smiling, Tony straightened and popped a few joints before ruffling Peter’s hair and joining him. That was how the father and son spent the rest of their afternoon, together in the lab putting together the engineer’s fancy lab tech.

There couldn’t have been a better way for them to spend the first day in their new home.


	2. Stages of Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter returns to school.  
> Tony had a breakdown.   
> Stephen has an awkward first meeting with his new neighbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next Chapter!! hella!!!
> 
> [WARNING] this chapter has several mentions of Tony's struggles with Alcoholism and him suffering an anxiety attack!

Walking up the front steps to school hadn’t felt this nerve-wracking since his first day of high school. Everyone was looking at him suspiciously, as if they were waiting for him to crack,he was sure there had to be at least one or two students with their phone cameras ready, just in case. Add  _ that  _ to the list of reasons he sometimes hated his family’s fame- everything that happened to them was public knowledge and every personal outburst could be sold to the media for a pretty penny.

Shaking off his irritation, Peter headed into the building and straight to his locker where Shuri and MJ were waiting for him.

“Sup, nerd,” MJ called out once he came into sight. Shuri greeted him with a sloppy two finger salute, her eyes not leaving the phone in her hands. 

“Ladies,” Peter responded, giving MJ a quick kiss on the cheek and opening his locker to place his bag in and grab the books he’d need for class. 

“So, how’s the new place? Feeling like home yet?” Shuri asked, finally putting her phone away and looking up at her best friend.

There was a lump in Peter’s throat, he paused for a millisecond before resuming his shuffling around in hopes of neither the two girls noticed his hesitation. He bit the inside of his cheek, doing his best to avoid meeting their gazes. He would rather talk about literally anything else. But knowing these two, there was no way they’re letting him off the hook. 

He sighed. “Not really.”

At Peters’ glum answer, MJ's brows rose and Shuri looked at him in concern. Fearing he gave them the wrong idea and not wanting to sound ungrateful for his father’s efforts to create a comfortable enough home for him, he clarified, “I mean, I like the new place and and all, but…” 

He considered leaving it at that, but a part of him wanted somebody to understand. And who else better than his girlfriend and one of his best friends? Besides, they’ve never really kept secrets from each other. 

Mind made up, Peter looked around to check for prying ears before dropping his voice down low. “I can tell that dad’s not coping with this well. I keep feeling like he’s just one misstep away from a full scale breakdown.”

Twirling one of her braids, Shuri gave him a sympathetic nudge. She understood better than anyone what it was like to have to grieve privately, or else the world would turn your every emotion into a profit. “It sounds like your father is avoiding his grief,” she mused. “He’s still stuck in the denial stage. All I can really say is to be patient with him and be there when the next stages finally come.”

Peter went through his memories, trying to think if that was the case. “I think he might have skipped over denial and gone straight to anger and now he’s hit depression… it’s not like he was really given the chance to deny what happened.” He gave a humourless chuckle. It was supposed to come out in a joking manner, but things just don’t seem to be turning out the way he wanted them to lately. “He’s not denying what happened. It’s more like he’s avoiding it like the plague, and now I’m worried that he’ll go into another downward spiral like he did a few years back…”

Shuri nodded in understanding while MJ just listened to the exchange silently, eyeing Peter searchingly, as if trying to read his emotions. Or the ones he’s trying to hide from them.

“What about you? How are you dealing with everything?” Shuri asked.

With a shrug, Peter smiled, grateful for their concern. “I’m fine. Everything's kinda different without--” He had to swallow before mentioning his name without sneering. “--Rogers around, but I’m okay. We were never all that close, so I’m not as personally bothered by him not being in the picture anymore. All I am is worried about my dad. This feels almost as bad as the aftermath of him coming home from Afghanistan…” Even now, at just the mention of it, the bitter memory came to the forefront of his mind, and if it weren’t for Peter being able to catch himself in time, he would have to deal with the usual constricting pain in his chest and the nausea to follow. Not an ideal way to start his first week back at school.

H e shook his head and continued, “Only this time I’m old enough to understand what he’s so broken up about, and I don’t know if that’s better or worse.” 

MJ linked their fingers together and pulled Peter into her side to offer her own kind of comfort. She wasn’t the best when it came to words, but he appreciated her being there for him nonetheless. His girlfriend emanated a kind of warmth that honestly gave him a rush of hope and security, and made Peter believe that everything will indeed be okay. He couldn’t have been more thankful. 

“You guys will make it through this, you always do. Just give it some time,” she said reassuringly as he rested his head on her shoulder.

Together they made their way towards first period.

**\---**

Tony had far too many boxes, and he wasn’t sure what to do with even  _ half _ the junk in them. Standing up straight, he brushed off his hands, and closed the lid of the one he just rummaged through. To his complete and utter lack of surprise, it had the same contents as the ones he already dove into. 

“Should have thrown some of this stuff out or chucked into storage,” he muttered to himself. God knew he probably didn’t need all these boxes dedicated to his old journals, half drawn up schematics, and incomplete or unusable designs. 

Sighing, Tony decided to come back to it later, and began walking towards the door. Hopefully there’s still some coffee left in the kitchen that can make him endure the rest of the unboxing process. Tony wished he could’ve just hired someone to do it for him. But to risk his designs and properties suddenly going missing and reappearing in someone else’s hands?  _ No. _

Though, maybe he could have asked Friday to do it… but the the woman was usually too busy in SI and she was doing him a favor by holding up the fort while he was away. And lastly, he couldn’t have his son help out as Peter had already missed enough school due to the move and looking after him.

He was a meter from the door when his foot hit something and, before he knew it, he was approaching the floor at a rapid speed. 

Tony cursed as he hit the ground, already feeling the aches all over. His cheek was pressed tightly against the carpet and if it weren’t for his palms that instinctively reached out to remedy his fall, he probably would have hit his head. He swore again. He  _ really _ wasn’t in the mood for any more misfortunes today. Unpacking was hard enough as it was, and while he had begrudgingly took upon the task, he was now fed up with it. He pointedly ignored the voice that whispered that it was probably his own fault for being distracted.

Grumbling with annoyance, Tony looked over his shoulder to see that his left leg was propped over the box that toppled over along with him. Glaring at it, he positioned himself to sit on the floor with his hand bracing him. Whatever this box contained, it better be important or Tony will not hesitate to throw it out without a second thought. He yanked it upwards, and a journal spilled out. 

“Huh,” he remarked. He picked it up and tried to see something that would make it different from the others but it was just another notebook. With a sigh, Tony started flicking through the pages, noticing the smudged drawings, writing, and the occasional tear in the pages. But when he went to turn one of the pages, something fluttered out onto his lap. It was a photo. Slowly, he closed the journal and set it back into the box.

Holding his breath, he pinched the side of the photo and counted to two before turning it over. His heart dropped, and his eyes confirmed what he already suspected. 

It was a picture taken of him and Steve at Natasha’s birthday party, three years ago. They were grinning widely at the camera, Steve’s arms wrapped wrapped firmly around his waist, his head resting on top of Tony’s.

_ ‘We looked so happy,’  _ he thought bitterly. Looking at it, he was reminded of how safe and loved he always felt in the other man's embrace. It was a feeling that he never thought he could have experienced with someone else.

Resentment flared, and with a growl, Tony strode over to the trash and angrily threw the picture in.  He couldn’t believe he was such a  _ fool _ . He may be a genius when it came to science and engineering, but in other areas he may as well have been an idiot. After what happened…He stopped that train of thought abruptly. 

_ No.  _

He absolutely refused to go there. He would  _ not _ think about Steve again. Tony wasn’t ready to open  _ that _ can of worms. It would be better, for everyone's sake, if he blocked it all out completely. 

Without a glance back, he left the room. Maybe a walk would help him clear his head...

**\---**

Awhile later, Tony growled in frustration. This wasn’t getting him anywhere. He’s been walking in circles for over an hour, and what he thought would be a good way to clear his head had turned into the opposite. 

Everywhere he looked reminded him of  _ him  _ in some way. It was getting ridiculous now. Tony had passed a Starbucks earlier, and one glimpse at the hot beverages in people's hands instantly evoked the memory of a time where his former husband tried to scold him for drinking too much coffee, claiming it wasn’t healthy. 

He always did that…. Steve took his health very seriously, and so made every effort to get his partner to do the same. When Tony would spend too long in the lab, obsessing over a new project, Steve would be there, gently coaxing him to come upstairs to eat, or catch up on his sleep. He would wear a disapproving frown when he did so, but the concern in his eyes would betray his worry. 

Shaking his head free of the memories, or at least trying to, Tony spotted a liquor store down the road. 

He needed a drink…. And the thought made Tony sick. It was kind of pathetic- Tony had been sober for seven years, and now, in just over an hour, the thought of Steve Rogers made him wanna go back on years of hard work trying to be better. 

Knowing he was weak for doing so, he entered the shop. Keeping his head down, he headed to the place he knew the scotch would be. He blindly gazed at the racks of bottles for some time, regretting every second he spend in the store. Shaking his head, Tony grabbed a bottle at random and made his way to the counter.

The clerk smiled at him. “Having a nice day?” she asked politely. 

“Could be better,” he responded.

She scanned the bottle, and handed it back to him in a paper bag. Thanking her, Tony left the shop, deciding to head home. If he was going to disappoint his son, at least he would do it in the privacy of their own home and not on the streets of New York, where just anyone could see him.  

It took Tony only 15 minutes to arrive back at the apartment, now that he wasn’t wandering around the block aimlessly. He entered the lobby, giving a strained smile to the security guard when he waved and quickened his pace once the guy looked away. The less people he interacted with, the better. Tony didn’t want them to see just how worn down he was.

Heading to the elevator, he quickly hit the button and gave a small sigh of relief when he saw that it was empty. He climbed in, almost staggering, hit the button to close the doors and swiped his keycard to send it up. Tony slumped against the wall, all his energy gone now that there was no one to see him. Just for a moment, he let his thoughts drift, unencumbered by the usual guards that kept them at bay. Almost immediately, they went to Steve again, and Tony groaned in annoyance. So much for the walk; all he managed to do was dredge up old memories that were better left forgotten. 

But now that he let them in, the thoughts refused to leave; crowding and irrepressible.

It was overwhelming, and Tony struggled to get a grip on himself- but it was impossible now. The memories bombarded him, not giving him even a moment to just breathe. Rather, they continued showing him all the moments Tony wished didn’t exist, but was now helpless to remember. They flashed before him in an endless loop, mocking him, telling him all the ways he could have been better, that if he done something different (been more affectionate, talked more, listened,  _ anything _ ) than maybe it wouldn’t have gone the way it did….that he could have been enough for Steve. 

He could feel himself spiraling, and Tony had just enough time to step out of the elevator and head towards his door before he collapsed, powerless to do anything against the weight of pain that waved through him, paralyzing in its intensity. Broken sobs fell from his lips as his body shook, drowning in the feelings of inadequacy and regret; blind to everything around him as he fell deeper to the thoughts consuming him. 

**\---**

Stephen Strange was not a nice person by  _ any  _ stretch of the word.  He was rude, egotistic and usually, he admits to himself, obstinate. But he was also a doctor, a job that he had taken very seriously, and it just wasn't in his nature to leave a person in need. So when he caught his neighbour in what looked like the midst of a anxiety attack, Stephen knew he had to try and help. 

Recalling what he was taught about handling such a situation, Strange bent down beside the man. Calmly, he started to talk him, trying to engage him in conversation so as to divert his attention and distract him from what was going through his mind. They went through several breathing exercises and the 5-4-3-2-1 coping tactic until his neighbour began to calm down. 

Half an hour later, the man slowly started to regain some of his composure. Once his breathing had slowed down to a relatively normal state, Stephen introduced himself, telling him he was a doctor. Keeping his voice soft, he asked for his name. After a pause, the man eventually responded.

“Tony…” His neighbor whispered. Stephen nodded and continued to ask him questions, reminding him to breathe occasionally, since it was still strained. 

After a few more minutes, the man looked up at Stephen and smiled tightly, standing up on shaky legs.. “Thanks for the assistance, but I'm fine now….” He turned around to face his door, paying no heed to Stephen’s concerned expression, too busy fishing in his pocket for his keys. The doctor frowned. Nobody brushed off or recovered from an attack like that so quickly.

“Are you sure your okay to be standing up after that?” Stephen asked doubtfully. “In my line of work, an attack like that does not leave someone ‘fine’. You really should sit back down.” 

“Like I said, I’m alright,” Tony dismissed smoothly, “But if it makes you feel better, Doc, I’ll promise to have a glass of water and lie down once I’m inside.”  _ If only I could get this damn door to open _ , he added silently.

His fingers were still quivering, badly enough so that he struggled to get the keycard into his door correctly. Sighing softly, Stephen took the man’s hand and helped steady it so he could get it through the reader, dropping it when he heard the tell-tale click that signaled the door had unlocked. His eyes happened to drop down to the paper bag by Tony’s feet, noticing the alcohol inside. But he said nothing about it.

With another sigh, the doctor turned away and began heading for the lift, but he stopped short a few feet from Tony’s door. “I’m in P2,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m home most days, if you ever need help. Or… if you just wanna talk.” That said, he continued on his way.

Tony didn’t respond.

**\---**

Peter didn't know what he expected to find when he got home. Would his dad be hiding away in the lab? Did he build a fort from empty boxes in the living room? Would he be in the kitchen cooking? 

What he found instead when he walked into the living room filled him with dread, and a deep, seething anger. For laying curled up on the floor was his father, with an old photo clutched in his hands, and a open bottle of Scotch sitting next to a glass of melted ice. The boy felt a split-second relief that at least it looked like the bottle hadn’t been touched other than being opened ( _ small miracles,  _ he thought privately) but the feeling didn’t last long.

He dropped his bag and rushed to his father's side. “Dad…” 

Tony looked up at his son with puffy red eyes, tear tracks still running down his face. “Pete…” he began, but Peter just shook his head and sat on the floor next to his father, wrapping his arms around around him. 

“It's okay dad, I'm here,” he said softly. 

After a pause, Peter felt his dad lift his arms to hug him back, and the two just sat there for awhile, Peter not minding giving the comfort his father clearly needed.

Sometime later, his dad worked up enough courage to show him the photo he was clutching. The one of him and Steve. Peter just wanted to yank the damn thing out of his dad’s hands and shred it for hurting his father like this. 

“Is it wrong that I miss him?” Tony said quietly, mumbling into Peter’s hair. ”Everything still reminds me of him… I don't want him back, but I can't seem to forget and move on. Steve was a part of our life for so long that I can't just cut him out like none of it ever happened…”

“You don't have to forget to move on,” Peter told him,”It’s okay to remember -- just so long as you remember how much he hurt you; don't let all the good memories disregard that and make you want to go back to him. What he did was wrong and vile. You didn't deserve that… so as long as you keep in mind what he did wasn't your fault and that it was Steve who wronged you, not the other way round than it's okay to think about him and remember.” He tightened his hold on his father as he spoke, letting him know he was still there. No matter how much he hated Rogers for what he did, he'd always be there to listen when his dad needed someone. 

Peter wasn't sure how much time had passed before his father began to move. “I think I'm gonna turn in early tonight kid, you gonna be okay?”

The teenager nodded and helped him to his feet. Tony had just made his way to the hallway that led to his bedroom before he turned back to his son.

“Would you tip that down the sink for me?” he asked, pointing to the alcohol bottle still sitting on the coffee table. Peter nodded again and grabbed the offending botting, making his way to the kitchen to dispose of it. On his way back through the living room to collect his bag, he spotted the photo his dad had been looking at. 

In a fit of uncharacteristic rage, he grabbed it, and took vicious satisfaction in ripping it to shreds; no longer wanting to see the smug smirk on that lying bastards’ face anymore. By the time he’d finished, the former photo lay decimated on the floor, the pieces of it so small that it was impossible to tell what it once was. 

Stuffing the shredded remains into his pocket to dispose of later, Peter headed down to his room and booted up his laptop. While he waited for that, he sent a quick message to the group chat he and his friends shared, telling them he'd be starting a Skype call soon before dropping the phone onto his desk and collapsing into his chair with an exaggerated sigh. 

Today had been way to emotionally taxing. 

He sat there a moment with his eyes closed, until his computer let out a chime. With one hand, he logged himself in and opened up Skype, rubbing at his temple with the other. It didn't take long for Shuri and Ned to accept the call; they'd probably already been on their computers when he'd messaged them, though it would take a bit longer for MJ and Liz to get online. Mainly since they weren't permanently attached to the internet as if it was a life support system.

“You okay Peter? You seem stressed. At least, more than you were when we left School.” Ned inquired, once the video had feed opened up.

“Ugh! Life needs to just chill the hell out and leave my dad alone!” Peter groaned, banging his head on his desk. While his head was down, MJ joined the call. From the grim look on her friend’s faces, she could immediately tell that this would probably not gonna be a happy conversation. 

“What happened?” MJ demanded. 

“More like what didn’t,” he said bitterly. “You know how I was afraid that dad was gonna spiral? Well, he did. When I got home, he was sitting with an opened bottle of scotch…”

At their alarmed looks, he quickly continued, “ No! It’s fine, he didn’t drink it, It’s just….. I don’t know what to do. It was bad. When I found him, he was laying on the floor crying, and clutching this  _ stupid  _ photo of Steve and ugh! I just wanna punch that stupid bastards’ stupid face for doing this to my dad!” Angrily, he hit his desk, feeling the pain and wishing he could inflict some of it on that blonde douchebag. 

They all offered their support,  a show of camaraderie against anyone who would dare hurt Mr. Stark

“Maybe we should just come around and burn everything that Rogers ever touched,” MJ mused. “Except your dad, obviously. He's cool, so he can stay I guess.” 

Peter rolled his eyes, smiling in exasperation, “Thanks MJ.” 

“Oh! I know, we could build a laser-gun! I’m sure that would help out the burning process immensely,” Shuri offered helpfully, excited at the prospect of building yet another destructive gadget. 

Before they could go on planning on this new catastrophe, Liz chimed in to be the usual, much needed voice of reason. “This sounds fun and all, guys… but they  _ just _ moved in. I doubt Mr. Stark wants another house fire”

“I agree with Liz. As enjoyable as building a laser-gun and burning all of Steve’s stuff sounds- he definitely deserves it mind you- we should probably refrain from causing another fire,” Ned added in.

“That only happened once!” Shuri muttered defensively. 

“Actually, it's happened four times…” Liz interjected. Everyone laughed, Shuri just rolling her eyes in response. 

As they continued on making jokes and talking of new and ridiculous ways to help his dad, Peter sat back and smiled.

His friends really were the best. 


	3. Breakdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Loki hang out.  
> Sam lays down some hard truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was definitely one of my favourite chapters to write, Sam's part particularly as the concept for it was what had initially given me the idea for this fic. but Peter and Loki being friends is also always fun! (And shirtless Thor is also always a win!!)
> 
> Anyway!! Enjoy!~

After two long weeks, Peter was finally settling in. He continued seeing Loki in the elevator every day, their a casual friendship growing in the moments they saw each other. Soon enough, Peter decided he was finally comfortable enough to ask the other teenager if they could hang out sometime. At least, outside of the elevator that was. 

And that was how Peter found himself inside Loki’s apartment, face to face with one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen.

“Wow,” was all he could say. 

Loki rolled his eyes. “Yeah, don’t worry, that’s pretty much how everyone reacts,” he told the other teen, who was still staring at his shirtless brother. 

The man just smiled, introducing himself as Thor, Loki's older brother. 

“Nice to meet you,” Peter said weakly. Honestly, he was still kinda dazed, but thankfully (at least for his sanity, though Peter couldn’t deny that part of him wasn’t disappointed) Thor finally put on his shirt, which was previously sitting over the arm of their couch. 

After a quick exchange of what sounded like Norwegian between the brothers, Thor nodded at Peter, and said goodbye to the both of them (in English, thankfully) and left

Once Thor was gone, Loki broke out into a laugh, giggling at the look on Peters face. “Yeah, I know. My brother has the body of a living god. Anyone who is even remotely attracted to men is at least thirty percent attracted to him.” 

To that, Peter just nodded dumbly. ‘ _ Yeah... the math checks out.’ _

The two hung out at Loki's place for a few hours, Loki introducing Peter to several of the TV shows he was currently watching. Soon though, the call of food and caffeine grew too strong and they went out again, eventually arriving at a small, out of the way cafè just around the corner from their home. 

Peter got himself a double-shot cappuccino and an apple slice, while Loki ordered a Death by Chocolate, topped with strawberries and chocolate sauce. It was insane. How Loki could drink that, Peter didn’t know. The cup size alone would put most people in a food-coma, not to mention the sugar count. Then again, he supposed the name made sense now.

“You know, that’s practically diabetes in a cup. Not kidding! That looks like it could kill someone,” he laughed, as Loki took his first sip from the toxic chocolate concoction as they walked back outside, heading back towards their building. 

“I am one hundred percent okay with that, to be honest.” Loki admitted. 

Peter looked at him in admiration for his commitment, and Loki quickly changed the topic.”So, what school do you go to?’ he asked.

“Midtown High. You?”

“Oh, I’m not in High School. After being kicked out of several, my brother finally decided to get me a Tutor. So, I’m  basically  home-schooled,” Loki said

“Wait, how did you get kicked out of so many schools?” Peter asked, curious.

“There may have been several fights, and a fire or two…” the other teen replied flippantly. 

Peter raised his eyebrows. This guy sounded just like Shuri. Hell, the two would probably get along like a house on fire (pun intended). He told him as much, and Loki laughed in agreement.

They continued to talk, making their way through several more topics. Peter learned a great deal more about Loki; the fact that he moved to the US to live with his brother when he was thirteen, and how he had two older siblings - a sister along with the brother Peter had already met - and that he was the only one who was adopted. And that he is gender fluid. 

Peter also learned that Loki liked the arts, whether it be theatre, painting, music or dance. Not to mention he was an avid reader, confined to no one particular genre, though Loki  admitted  that mythology is his favourite, which is why he wants to study religious history in college as his Major. Peter had to admit, he was really glad he met Loki- amazed to have finally found another person who could talk just as much as him, if not more. It made it easier to avoid talking about himself.

Soon enough, they were almost home, the walk there having blurred by as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind. It was only when they were heading down their street that Peter spotted a head of familiar blonde hair, standing in front of the Apartment building. 

_ “No, it couldn’t be… That bastard couldn’t possibly be dumb enough to come back. To  _ crawl  _ back.”  _

Abruptly, he stopped talking, not even noticing that he cut himself off in the middle of his sentence. Loki did though, and he looked at Peter in confusion, following in silence as his friend rushed ahead, not even thinking as the unbridled rage that always seemed to fill him whenever he thought of the asshat who hurt his father came boiling over. They finally made it to their building, and Peter immediately made a beeline to the entrance, where Steve Rogers stood, staring nervously at them. 

“What the  _ hell _ do you think your doing here, Rogers?! Dad made it pretty damn clear that he wanted nothing to do with you after everything you did to him!” Peter shouted and, without even hesitating, threw his cup, half-filled with lukewarm coffee, at Steve. The blonde just had enough time to block the drink from hitting him in the face, but the rest of him wasn’t so fortunate. Coffee splashed everywhere, covering his shirt, and even some of his pants.

A look of anger began to form on his face, before he managed to school his features into a neutral expression. “Peter, you’re lucky that wasn't any hotter or you could have seriously hurt someone.” 

The glare Peter sent Steve's way could have melted steel. “ _ Yeah _ , that was the  _ point _ ,” he said witheringly. “I was  _ aiming _ to hurt you!”

“There really isn't any need for you to act so rude and childish,” Steve admonished him,”I didn't come here to fight or cause a scene, but here you are doing both. What would your father think if he saw you behaving in such a way?” 

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because before Peter could stop himself he was rushing forward, fist pulled back, ready to hit the older man. But thankfully, Loki was there, and he quickly pulled Peter back before he could lay a hand on him. 

“Dude, I don’t know what’s going on, but it'd probably be a bad idea to get into a fight right now,” Loki cautioned, then muttered quietly to himself, “Which is one of the things I’d  _ never _ thought I would ever actually say….”

“I don't care! That asshole cheated on my dad and broke his heart!” Peter practically growled, attempting futilely to break free from Loki's grip. “Let me go!” 

Finally, after much commotion (which was basically Peter hurling whatever insults came to mind and Steve trying, and failing, to reason with him), the buildings security guard finally came out and had Steve removed from the premises. All the while, Loki had to practically drag Peter inside while the blonde reluctantly left, his friend still glaring at the man’s retreating back. Once he was gone, Peter finally stopped struggling, collapsing with fatigue and Loki let him go.

The walk to the elevator was tense; Loki not knowing what to say, and Peter still too angry and upset to talk about it. It wasn’t until they were heading up to their penthouse floor that Peter couldn't contain himself anymore, and lashed out, punching the elevator wall. It didn’t make him feel better at all and already he could the feel the tingling sensation that came just before he started to cry. 

_ ‘Not now,’  _ he groaned to himself. It was bad enough that Loki had to witness the confrontation between him and Steve, but to see him crying as well? ‘ _ Great, just great’. _ Today was  _ obviously _ not his day. Uncomfortable at seeing his friend in such turmoil, Loki spoke up.”I'm not gonna ask if your okay, because I can clearly see that you’re not. But…” he hesitated,”is there anything I can do to help?”

Peter didn't respond. Tears had already started to fall down his face, and he knew that if he were to say anything he would probably just start sobbing outright. And not the pretty kind either, but the full, gross runny-nose-and-bloodshot eyes kinda deal. So, he just slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting, and buried his face in his arms, not wanting Loki to see. However, the slight dent in the wall of the elevator said enough about Peter’s emotional state that Loki didn’t have to see his face to guess how he was feeling. 

Sighing softly, he sat down at the other teen’s side, and while Loki had no experience in comforting a crying person (usually, if someone was bawling then 9/10 times, he was the one to cause the tears…) he figured a hug wasn’t a bad place to start. People liked hugs, right? 

Mentally shrugging, he did just that. Well, sort of- slinging an arm around Peter, and pulling him closer to his side totally counts. It's a bit awkward and a little unnatural, but Loki does his best and hopefully, doing this will help calm his friend down. 

And it worked.

Though he still couldn’t stop his tears, Peter had to admit, the presence of Loki next to him was definitely comforting, almost like a warm blanket. Through his hiccups and sobs, he finally begins to talk. He lets out everything. All his frustration, and his anger and sadness at this whole situation. Loki quietly listens. He may not know how to comfort someone, but he can definitely be there for a friend in need.    
  


**\---**

Sam lingered patiently in the kitchen as he waited for the kettle finish boiling, so that he could make his usual afternoon cup of tea.  It had only just started to whistle when he heard the front door open and close- alerting him to Steve’s return from his ongoing and pointless attempts to make Stark talk to him. A useless endeavor, if you asked him. “So, how’d it go?” he asked, not even turning to look as his friend as he began the task of putting his drink together; “You end up seeing Stark this time?” 

“No,” Steve answered shortly.

Sam turned around just in time to see Steve remove his shirt. The once white material was now mostly a dark muddy brown, and as the other man didn’t really drink coffee there was little to no chance he’d spilled it on himself. On the other hand, Steve did just come back from the home of avid coffee drinkers. If he was a betting man, Sam knew where he’d be putting his money. He raised his eyebrows at his friend. “What happened?” he inquired, amused. ‘ _ This was gonna be good.’ _

Steve let out a long-suffering sigh. “Peter threw coffee at me,” he grumbled, “Then he tried to attack me. Started yelling at me out in front of their building….”

“Honestly, did  you  _ actually  _ expect anything less t han outright hostility from the kid after what you did?” Sam asked incredulously.

“What happened between Tony and I shouldn’t concern him! He was very immature about the whole thing. I didn’t even get the chance to  _ see _ Tony!” 

**“** You do realise that Peter is Tony’s  _ son _ , right?” Sam said, trying to make him see reason. “Of course it concerns him! The boy is only trying to look out for his family.” 

“I’m Tony’s family too! I made a mistake - everyone makes mistakes! They shouldn’t be ostracizing me for it. If Tony would just grow up and let me explain everything properly, he’d understand…” Steve practically whined. Sam privately thought that he sounded just like a child throwing a tantrum.

“You’ve  _ got _ to be kidding me right now. Steve, you  _ are _ kidding right? You don’t  _ actually _ believe any of that… “ But the look of conviction in Steve’s eyes told him that he meant every word. Sam shook his head in disbelief. “A mistake? Nah man, a  _ mistake _ is forgetting to pick someone up from the airport, or missing a birthday or an anniversary. _ Cheating on your husband for several months  _ is not a mistake, Steve. It’s a  _ choice _ , one that you chose to make the moment Bucky came home and you decided lying to Tony was a good idea rather than being honest with him about the whole situation.”

Sam grabbed his drink from the bench and started heading for the stairs, deciding he was done discussing this with him. Hell, he was sure he would have more success arguing with a brick wall. However, he did stop and turn back to the other man, determined to give him some much needed advice before he retired back to his office. “Just sign the divorce papers, Steve,” he said softly. “Stark’s not gonna take you back and there is nothing you can do about it… you’ve hurt enough people by being selfish, just let it go so you can both move on with your lives…” 

Having said his piece Sam left, leaving Steve stunned into silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews & Kudos are very appreciated!~ 💙


	4. The Definition of Toxic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes to therapy.  
> Teenagers play D&D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this was a particularly hard chapter to write, full of so many strong emotions and the fact that I've never written a therapy scene for anything in the past, this was all very knew (And I've not been to therapy since i was a kid, so i didn't have anything to really base it on aside from some googling of how a therapy session may go)
> 
> but i am very happy with how this chapter ended up turning out (Aside from not being able to keep this chapter in a singular POV (the first part swaps between both Tony & Maria, hopefully it isn't to bothersome to read and understand) so Enjoy!!!

Maria Hill's office was the very definition of professional. Comfortable couch? Check. Armchair for therapist? Check. Table? Check. Bland paintings? Check. Tony sat on the aforementioned comfortable couch, looking around and trying not to fidget as the therapist jotted down a few notes. He isn’t really sure what he's doing here. It’s not like he wants to talk to anyone about his post-marital issues or failures in parenting….But, he knows he needs to and that’s what made him reluctantly book the appointment. He could no longer keep putting his shit onto Pete. The kid’s barely fifteen, and it wasn’t his job to look after him. It's  _ his  _ responsibility to take care of his son and make sure he's okay,  _ not  _ the other way round.

“Alright Tony,” Dr. Hill began. ”Let's start with  _ why  _ you've come in today. How have you been doing?” She looked over her patient with a keen eye, her experience enabling her to spot a lie a mile away, and with her previous sessions with Stark in the past, she knew he would most likely try and lie to her about his emotional state. It was the usual defense mechanism for him. 

Tony ran a hand through his hair, and thought about deflecting the question. But,  he was here for Peter. He had to actually  _ try  _ if he was going to do any better. After taking a moment to organise his thoughts, Tony started talking. “It’s not been good, Maria…” he admitted. ”Just in the last few weeks alone I’ve had two breakdowns, a severe anxiety attack, and almost broke my seven year sobriety. So yeah,  _ really _ not great….” he trailed off. Having said what he needed to, Tony leaned back, and watched the unusual look of surprise on his therapist’s face in grim amusement. 

Ton y’s straightforward honesty th rew Maria for a moment. She genuinely thought she'd have to pull the truth from the man- which was about as easy as pulling teeth. However, she wasn’t a professional for nothing. Only a few seconds had passed before her expression smoothed out, the shock vanishing as if it had never been there. She looked back at her notebook, and started to write down all the new information. “So, I gather the reason you're here today is because of this?” For whatever caused Stark to come here must have been serious, and she refused to waste a single moment of their time together. 

“Well, yes and no.” He hesitated, fidgeting with his hands, unable to resist the urge any longer. Especially since it helped draw his attention away from how uncomfortable he felt sharing his thoughts.

”The other day my son came home and told me he got into a fight with my ex-husband outside our apartment building… He threw coffee at him and then tried to physically assault him. Would have too, if not for his friend stopping him and security coming and forcing my ex to leave.” Tony had to stop talking for a moment to breathe, his voice started shaking as he went on about the events of the other day. 

“Are you alright? Do you want some water?” Maria asked in concern.

He shook his head,”I’m fine,” he said tightly.”it’s just…. Peter isn't a violent kid. He's usually a  bit of a pacifist. But recently… he's been different, angry. It’s not normal for him to act this way and I'm worried it's my fault.” Indeed, guilt had seeped into his tone, and his brown eyes reflected it. He should be used to the guilt by now, as it was nothing new to him, but maybe that was a part of the problem...

Maria hummed. “Tell me about his relationship with your ex-husband prior to your separation. Did they get along before? Were they close?” 

At that, Tony laughed bitterly. “None of the above. Steve really wasn't into kids. He mostly just tolerated that I had one already when we got together, and Peter… ever since I told him about his birth mother he's not had an interest in having another parent. Mostly they just co-existed in a sort of mutual tolerance for my sake.”

Maria wrote that down too. It wasn't completely unusual for a parent to be in a relationship with someone who had no interest in  having children, though it almost always lead to problems within the relationship. But she had to admit, she was surprised to hear that Tony would ever enter a serious relationship with someone who had no desire or interest in co-parenting, particularly since she had known him for such a long time.

Maria Hill had been Tony Stark's therapist when he came back from his time in captivity in Afghanistan, and she remembered how hard it was to get him to open up to her about the pain and trauma he experienced. The only reason he finally conceded was because she was the one who had to determine if he was still a fit parent or not. If she didn't rule in Tony's favour, he would risk losing his son. So it was completely astonishing that, knowing how much he adored his son, he would choose a partner like that. Maria went on to tell him as much. 

     “It was because I loved him,” Tony explained. ”It started when I was in college, and he was working as an intern for my father. My family adored him, and though we were only together for a brief time, he was good, and kind….. And he was the first person to ever make me feel like he loved me for me. That he wasn't just with me for my money, or my family name.” He swallowed heavily, but continued on.“Steve made me think it was okay to just be me…. But then, he left. Went to go join the army, and was shipped off somewhere to be shot at. He ended our relationship that day, and I never thought I'd see him again…” Looking back, Tony wished now that he never did….It would have been better, for all their sakes.

”And so, I moved on with my life. I met other people. I had a kid. For the most part, I thought I was over him… then we ran into each other at a mutual friends party a few years ago… and well,” He shrugged, “turns out I hadn’t moved on as much as I thought I had. Seeing Steve again, it felt like I was given a second chance that most people didn’t get. I didn't want to waste it.” 

As Tony was talking, Maria observed her patient closely as he spoke of the man he loved. She saw him smile when he told her about his family’s approval, watched how his hands trembled when he mentioned Steve joining the army, and the way his eyes watered when he spoke of their second chance.

Quite frankly, she was amazed at the sheer difference compared to the last time he had contacted her. There was so much raw emotion falling freely from this closed of and guarded man. It was clear just how much this Steve had affected him. Once Tony had finished, she spoke up, ”It sounds like Steve was very important to you,” Maria commented. “Going through this rough divorce, you must have a lot pent-up feelings in regards to him. I believe that this is causing your anxiety to act up, which in turn, has created a significant amount of distress, and possibly put your son’s mental health at risk. Have I got this correct?”

Tony just nodded.

“Which leads me to the main root of the problem….” Maria leaned forward and asked gently,”I know it may be a tough subject right now, but would you like to tell be about what caused you and your husband to separate?”.  

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and looked away at her question, all but closing himself off from her. Which, considering how open he'd been so far, said a lot about how he felt about the subject. However, it was important for her to know what happened, so she could help him come to terms with it in order to heal. “I'm sorry, Tony. I understand how hard this must be for you, but it is critical for me to know what happened, otherwise I won't know how to help you.”

Sighing, he unfolded his arms and pinched the bridge of his nose, conceding “Steve had this friend who'd enlisted with him,” he began, “ They'd gotten together while they were abroad,  but James…  ‘Bucky’....Never came home. They thought he was KIA. It turned out not to be true, rather he had been taken prisoner somewhere. After awhile, he managed to find a way to escape, though in the process he acquired a major head injury and had no memory of who, or where he was. Eventually, he found his way to a small town where he stayed for years, trying to figure out who he was and where he came from. Then, about ten months ago, everything just came back. Barnes had no clue what triggered his memory, just that it did, and who would look a gift horse like that in the mouth? And so, he finally came home… and discovered Steve was married to me.” 

“Steve didn't tell me any of this at first, he would just spend more and more time away from home. Told me he was working on a classified project for the army; it seemed reasonable enough, nothing unusual about that. He had been a part of several classified projects in the past, after all, so there was nothing suspicious about him working on another one. At least until about six months ago, when a man I hadn't seen in over twenty years, who I thought was  _ dead _ , show up at my door and tells me he was sleeping with my husband.” Tony clenched his fist, the memory and the emotions that came with it still sharp in his mind. “Of course, after I learned that, I immediately left- just packed myself and my son a bag and went to a hotel. The next day, I proceed to go out, and buy a pile of boxes which I shoved all of Steve’s stuff into, and had the locks on the house changed so he couldn't get in. I left all of his stuff out the front with a letter telling him we were over and to be expecting a visit from my lawyer with divorce papers. And that was it…. I've only seen him once since then, when he  _ decided _ that he finally wanted to explain everything to me.” 

Throughout Tony’s explanation, Maria listened closely, and as Tony went on, it became clear just how necessary it was for her to know what happened. It was more than just him being cheated on, for the lies and betrayal went so much deeper than that. It would probably take a long time for him to heal from this, even if he had taken the right step towards it by coming here. Though, she had to admit, a small part of her was curious about this other man Barnes and how he felt about the whole ordeal. He obviously felt enough guilt to seek Tony out and confess he had been sleeping with the other man's husband. But, she quickly tucked those thought away. James Barnes was not one of her patients, and therefore not her problem right now.  “Well. It may be unprofessional of me to say, but your ex-husband sounds like a real dick,” Maria stated wryly, prompting a small smile to come to Tony’s face. 

After that, they continued to go over several of Maria’s other concerns for helping put Tony on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, many had to do with how much damage Rogers had done to Tony’s psyche when it came to things such as his PTSD- it seemed that his lack of consideration and understanding of the trauma Tony had gone through had made Tony himself stop taking it as seriously himself. Apparently, the fact that he  _ ‘wasn’t a soldier’ _ and  _ ‘hadn't really been to war’ _ made Steve dismiss it and other symptoms of his time in captivity and _ ‘he shouldn’t claim to suffer from the same illnesses of soldiers who fought for their country and freedom’  _ as Tony quoted to her. Honestly, the more she heard about this guy the more disgusted she became with him. 

It was upsetting for her to see how much of the progress they had made the first time around was lost due to what happened. But Maria was confidant that eventually, Tony would get back on the right track with her guidance. Tony was a good man and a great father. She would not see him ruined by one man’s wrong doings. 

**\---**

Coming home t o the sound of teenage laughter echoing around the apartment was honestly the best thing Tony could have heard after his emotionally exhausting therapy session. Closing the front door, he went through to the living room, where he found his son and five other teens sitting around their large coffee table playing  _ Dungeons & Dragons _ . None of them had noticed him yet, too wrapped up in their game- Ned waving his arms as he gave some grand explanation about a Giant in a Cloud Castle. Tony simply leaned back against the wall, watching them all laugh and play for a few moments, appreciating the joy that was on Peters’ face as he and his friends messed around. 

It didn’t take long for one of them to discover the adult in the room, though. Shuri was the first to spot him when she glanced towards the entryway and saw him standing there. She waved at him dramatically, almost knocking the paper hat off her head as she drew everyone's attention to him. “Science-Dad’s home!” she called out in way of a greeting. A chorus of hellos from the rest of the teens followed.

“Hey kids, how's your afternoon been?” Tony queried, coming over to stand beside his son. 

“Peter wanted to introduce us to Loki, and so we figured the best way to get to know him was by playing d&d together,” Ned replied, gesturing with his hand towards the table. 

Tony turned to the new kid, “These nerds roped you into their game, did they?” he chuckled. He wasn’t surprised, though. Honestly, they took every opportunity they could to play the game, and any additional member was more than welcome. Hell, they once actually tried to get him to play it with them - which ended with Shuri taking her role as Bard way too seriously and mocking his every move until his poor character died way too prematurely. He'd been an  _ awful _ Cleric.

“Yeah, but it's not too bad,“ Loki said honestly, “I finally have a valid excuse to speak The King's English while quoting Shakespeare at people. So it’s a win-win.”

Tony nodded. “Well,” he sighed, “I better go and get back to my projects. You kids have fun, I'll be down in the lab if you need me.” 

With that, he headed towards the door to his lab. He had just made it to the entrance when Peter grabbed his arm. Raising his eyebrow, he turned to face his son. Peter looking away sheepishly, “I just wanted to know how therapy was? Did everything go okay?” 

Tony smiled softly, feeling his heart warm. It amazed him sometimes just how caring Peter was and how lucky he was to have him as a son. He pulled him into a hug. “Yeah kid, it went fine,” Tony reassured the boy gently. “I'm okay… or, I will be. I've got another appointment next week and ongoing once a week for the next three months. I need help and I'm gonna get it. I promise.” 

Peter nodded his head, mumbling a ‘good’ into his father's chest. 

“Go rejoin your friends, Pete. I'll make dinner in a few house and we'll chat then.” Peter pulled away and wiped at his eyes. He wasn't crying, but his eyes still tingled from all the emotions he was feeling. Tony ruffled the boys hair, almost knocking the paper hat off his head in the process, before giving his shoulder a light push back towards the living room. “Now go on. Just who knows what they’re saying or doing to Loki while you’re not there.”

Peter grinned. “They're fine, everyone seems to like him.” 

Tony gasped “That's even worse! Who knows what sort of hazing ritual they might put him though?”

Peter just laughed, shaking his head, he left. Smiling to himself, Tony unlocked the door and headed into his lab. True, he had a lot to work through, and maybe things weren't perfect right now, but he was finally looking forward to the future now. Life was good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if y'all are wondering, the campaign the kids are playing is "Storm Kings Thunder" And it is also the same campaign my d&d group were playing while i was writing this fic. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! even through the difficulty i had writing parts of it i still had a lot of fun with it! 
> 
> Comments & Kudos are my fuel! 💙💙💙


	5. Disaster at the Stark Residence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen gives Peter stitches.  
> Furniture is used for acrobatic purposes.  
> Tony doesn't know how to respond to any of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out, work got really hectic and then my friends dragged me out onto a Camping trip over the weekend so i had 0 access to the internet and couldn't update then either. 
> 
> This one is a bit of an interesting chapter, the beginning is very meta, and yes, Stephens opinions on writing are definitely shared with the Author. 
> 
> Minor warning for blood, injury and teenage idiocy!

Writing was  _ hard _ . 

And coming from a former Neurosurgeon, that was saying something. It was certainly a lot more difficult than brain surgery had ever been,  _ that  _ had come rather easily to him. He hadn’t been at the top of his field for nothing, after all.

After losing his career though, Stephen decided that he would write a book on the subject of combining homeopathic and modern medicine. As doctor and a believer of science, most people couldn't understand  _ how  _ he could also be a spiritualist who believed in, and even suggest, alternative medicines to his patients. So, now that he couldn't practice anymore, he decided that he would finally explain it and prove that  _ both _ his practices had merit and could work together. 

But writing was proving to be impossible. He couldn’t understand how other people could do it and make it look so easy. In theory, it didn't seem so hard…just string a bunch of words together and  _ voila _ ! Results. But the reality of the situation was vastly different, and the words in his head scrambled if he so much as  _ thought _ about putting them down onto paper. Grumbling, he considered hitting his head against the desk for a moment, but then thought better of it. It probably wasn’t wise to damage his most valuable asset, at least for now anyways.

Stephen was just about ready to call it quits for the day, when a loud banging on his door interrupted him.  _ ‘Thank god. A distraction _ ,’ he thought in relief, making his way towards his front door. 

However when he opened it, he found Loki on the other side, with a panicked look on his face, and one of his hands covered in blood. Stephen forced himself stay calm- after all, this was not the first time the teenager had come to his door in a state of distress. Grabbing the boy's bloodied hand, he brought it up to his face for inspection “What happened?” he asked smoothly, turning the arm in his grasp to inspect it for injuries.  

“It's not my blood, we need your help next door!” Loki choked out in a rush, voice frantic as he yanked his arm from the doctors’ grasp. “Peter tried to do a flip off the coffee table, but he slipped and knocked a glass over and now he's bleeding and he hit his head!”

Stephens eyes hardened, and in an instant, he was in full doctor mode. First things first, he rushed back into his apartment to grab his medical supply bag then followed Loki back down the hall to their neighbor’s; where there was a bleeding, and possibly concussed teenager in need of medical attention. When Stephen entered the living room, his grey eyes were immediately drawn to a curly-haired boy, who was sitting shirtless with his head resting on a dark-skinned girl’s chest. 

That must be Peter.

Quickly, he made it over to the pair and kneeled down in front of them “Peter, I'm Doctor Strange,” he quickly introduced himself, while taking out and donning a pair of gloves from his bag.  “I'm your neighbor and I'm here to help.” 

“Hiya doc… good thing you’re here. My arm and side are kinda starting to hurt...” Peter gritted out through clenched teeth. And no wonder- there were several cuts along his arm, and a shard of glass poking out of his side. Thankfully, it was nothing too serious, though it would definitely need a few stitches, but nothing life-threatening, at least. 

Having finished his assessment on his arm and side, he pulled his penlight from the bag, “Peter, I need to check you for a concussion before I start treating the rest of your injuries.” He informed the teen. Peter started to nod, but stopped with a hiss. Instead, he just grunted his approval, and Stephen went to work examining his head. Luckily, the boy didn't have a concussion, just a small bump. It would be fine with a few painkillers and some sleep. 

Now to deal with the shard of glass imbedded in his side. Rummaging through his medical supplies, Stephen grabbed out a pair of tweezers, needle, stitching thread, gauze, bandages and some rubbing alcohol. He prepped everything, laying it all down so that he could get to each tool right when it was needed. After cleaning away the blood and bacteria from around the wound, he picked up his tweezers, “Now Peter, I know this will hurt but I need you to remain very still while I take this out. I don’t want to cut you up any more then you already are, okay?” Peter just nodded before burying his face into the girls chest once again.

“I got him” the girl said, wrapping her arms around the kid’s head and shoulders to hold him still.

Breathing deeply, Stephen nodded and got to work removing the glass- it wasn’t in very deep, but it was still difficult to take out, and working on a kid without pain meds was not ideal. Though Peter was staying still, just as Stephen had asked, he was still whimpering in pain. Eventually, the glass was out and the wound began to bleed more heavily. Dropping the tweezers and glass on the coffee table, he placed a wad of gauze over the injury to stem the bleeding. As he worked, the girl kept looking at him, a worried expression prominent on her face. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” Stephen reassured her, “Peter’s going to be fine. Though, I might need a second pair of hands- sorry, what was your name?- could I get you to hold pressure down on here while I clean and bandage the rest of his cuts?” 

“Michelle. And yeah, I can do that,” she replied, taking over holding the gauze in place for the doctor. Once his hands were freed, Stephen picked up the rubbing alcohol and another handful of dressing, and got to work cleaning up the small amount of cuts and scrapes along the boy’s arm and side.

“So… do I dare ask why you were jumping off of furniture?” Stephen asked mildly as the last of the cuts were cleaned. 

Peter mumbled something Stephen couldn’t quite catch into Michelle’s chest and she rolled her eyes. “I joked that he probably couldn’t do a backflip off the table anymore… so obviously he took it as a challenge,” she explained with exasperation, though her voice was also laced with fondness.  

“I did it though!” Peter exclaimed, turning his head so they could hear him properly. 

“You didn’t stick the landing, so I don’t think count.” Loki cut in, finally breaking his silence. Michelle laughed and Peter grumbled. 

“Do you normally attempt dangerous stunts in your living room?” Stephen inquired, as he began sterilizing the needle to stitch up the wound in his side. 

Before anyone could respond, the front door opened and Peter’s father (Tony, Stephen recalled, remembering him as the hot Italian with nice facial hair and an obvious anxiety issues) called out a greeting to his son. “Oh no… Dad is gonna freak out when he sees me like this,” Peter whispered, panicked. 

“You should have thought about that  _ before _ jumping off the furniture,” Stephen said completely deadpan, before going back to threading his needle. 

**\---**

Of all the things Tony expected to come home to, finding his neighbour giving his son stitches as his girlfriend practically held him down while his other friend stood off to the side (looking like he’d rather be literally anywhere else) was  _ definitely  _ not on his list. After staring blankly for a few minutes at the scene, Tony's first, immediate response was to ask where Peter’s shirt was. His mind too overwhelmed at the chaos going on in his living room right now, so it decided to zero in on the least anxiety inducing, out-of-place thing in the room.

Caught out, his son stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Tony raised an eyebrow, waiting for his son to finally respond. “Loki didn’t believe MJ when she said i had nice abs… so she make me take off my shirt to prove it.” 

“Of course she did. Now, why has the nice doctor turned my living room into an ER?” 

“So… you know how you are always telling me not to climb on the furniture?” He started sheepishly. Tony crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at his kid over his sunglasses. “Yeah, well… you should probably keep telling me… because I did a flip off the table but I didn’t land properly and now I’m  _ seriously  _ regretting my life choices…..” 

Tony had no words. Out of all the stupid things to do….

“Right,” he said, once his voice started to work again, “let me know when you’ve finished fixing up my idiot. I’ll be in the kitchen - I’ve had a hell of a day with work and if I’m gonna have to deal with this, then I need coffee.” With that, Tony left through the entryway he’d just come in though and headed to the kitchen. 

Fifteen minutes later he was joined by the doctor, carrying a small hazard bag that he threw into the trash. “All done. Like I told Peter, nothing too serious. Just make sure he keeps the stitches clean and dry for a few day, and I can take them out for him in about a week.

Tony nodded and moved away from the sink so the doctor could wash his hands. “Thanks. That kid can be so accident-prone, it amazes me I haven't wrapped him in bubble wrap yet.”

It’s not the first time Stephen had heard that sentiment. After all, he encounter it quite a lot during his early days as a surgeon. It seemed that no matter how old the child gets, their parents’ still wanted to wrap them up and protect them. 

“Yeah.. that’s kids for you, though. Always reckless,” he chuckled. Tony laughed and agreed. “So, how are you going, by the way?” Stephen asked casually. Startled, the other man glanced at him. 

“Is this some sort of patient follow up?” he joked.

Stephen shook his head no.“Just inquiring,” he replied, wiping his hands dry on a dishcloth.

After a long sip of his drink, Tony smiled at the doctor “I'm alright, thanks.” After Stephen shot him a look, he caved.

“Okay, fine, I’m not. But, I am seeing a therapist again, so… there’s an improvement I guess,” he shrugged. That was all he could ask at the moment, really. 

“Healing starts with just improving. Many people don't even make it that far…”

Tony raised an eyebrow at the doctor. “So you a therapist or are all doctors like this in their off hours?” 

Stephen smiled. Tony seemed to have a sarcastic defense mechanism for when he started to feel emotional, though he wasn't the only one. “No. I'm just a special case. I was a Neurosurgeon until about fourteen months ago….now I'm just forcing my opinions onto anyone who'll listen” 

“So your a cultist.” Tony gasped, though the expression on his face said he was kidding.

Playing along, Stephen gave him a mock-surprised look, “That was fast,” he commented, “People don’t usually find out until at  _ least _ the third date.”

“Well, I couldn’t really call myself a scientist if I didn’t have  _ some  _ basic observational skills,” he pointed out.

“True,” Stephen agreed, then tried to put on a more serious expression, though the way his lips kept tugging up sort of ruined the look he was going for, “But now that you know, I’m afraid I can’t let you go….”

“Oh no, you’re not going to try kill me are you? I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline…” Tony said regretfully. 

“Who says I want to kill you?” he replied smoothly. 

They exchanged a long look and both of them finally burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. Stephen had to admit, he was glad to have found someone this fun to talk to and verbally spar with. He hadn’t had an interesting conversation like this in  _ forever _ , as silly as it was. 

And that was how Loki and MJ found them both, still attempting to calm themselves down, only to crack up again at the sight  of each other’s faces. The teenagers waited for a couple of seconds, not wanting to interrupt (especially since MJ hadn’t seen Mr. Stark so light-hearted like this in  _ ages _ ), though when the adults noticed them, they quickly straightened up, and did their best to regain their composure. 

“Hey dad, Peter’s out cold so we're gonna split. Make him call me when he wakes up so I don't worry that he died in his sleep or something.” MJ said, shrugging on her coat and picking up her handbag, after making sure she still had everything. 

“Sure thing, MJ,” Tony agreed. “I'll get him to call you, right after he and I have a talk.”

She thanked him, said her goodbyes, and turned and headed out the door to go home. Loki stayed where he was, and gave the doctor a small smile. “Thanks for the assistance, Strange. Glad you were home,” he said earnestly. Just thinking about if he hadn’t been made Loki shiver…. 

Stephen nodded in acknowledgment and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder “It's fine. In return, you can look over my book and give me some feedback about it.” Loki winced at the thought. 

“No…. Anything but  _ that _ ,” he complained. “Asking you to help my friend shouldn't mean you can torture me with that hellish mess you’re calling a book.” And truly, it was. After all, it was just page after page of spiraling and long-winded spiels into a subject that would have  _ normally _ fascinate Loki. However, in Stephen’s hands, it was hopelessly rendered into a bland and uninspiring mess of words. It was truly tragic.

Stephen just shook his head in mock-disappointment, and pushed the teen out of the kitchen. “Go home, Loki. I'll make sure to bring it and a nice book to wash it down with over tomorrow before I head out.” Loki just groaned (he couldn’t believe Stephen was still going to make him read that book with his own two eyes), leaving the two men alone again. 

A comfortable silence permeated the air, as the two men stood across from one another. Stephen was just about to open his mouth to ask Tony if he knew anything about writing, however, Peter chose that moment to make a pained noise back in the living room and it was like a switch flipped for Tony, turning him instantly to panicked-dad-mode. He moved to the medicine cupboard, and grabbed a bottle of pain pills and a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’m going to go take care of my idiot,” he announced, then paused. “Thanks again… you know, for coming to help. I appreciate it.” 

Stephen smiled back at the other man, “Any time. I’ll remove the stitches in a few days after he’s healed up. If you think something else might be wrong or he tears a stitch or anything, I’m right next door.” Grateful, Tony nodded. He really did owe him one. 

The two then headed back to the living room, where Stephen collected his supplies so he could take care of them back in his own apartment. All packed up, the doctor took one last look at the father and son before heading for the door, silently hoping he would have another chance to speak with Tony. Preferably one  _ without  _ any need for his medical expertise, at least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely adore this chapter!! it had initially been the hardest chapter to write, but then once i decided to just get Meta and have fun with it, everything just fell into place so nicely.
> 
> As always, i hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Comments and Kudo's keep me going!!! 💙💙💙


	6. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is in Denial.  
> Tony makes a mistake.  
> Pepper wants Steve's head  
> Stephen comes to the rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of an awkward chapter, The Steve stuff in particular still feels a little stiff to me, but hopefully that's just because I've been reading it over and over and it's just me. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!!

Steve smiled to himself, pleased. After  _ months _ of radio silence, Tony had finally agreed to meet him so that they could talk. He couldn’t have been happier.

_ ‘Thursday 12pm. O'Connell's. You’re paying’.  _

While Tony's message didn't say much, it was enough to put Steve in high spirits. He would finally have the chance to properly explain himself and begin to put all this unnecessary ugliness behind them. Once that was done, they could be a  _ family  _ again. 

With that in mind, Steve put on his crisp blue button-down and paired it with a nice suit jacket, knowing Tony had always liked it when he dressed up. He could  _ not _ screw today up. If he did, who knew how long it would be before Tony would see him again. He checked himself out one last time (he had to be perfect, after all), smoothing out a stray hair he found before he finally left.

He arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes early. Tony would probably show up late, as was his custom, but that didn’t mean he himself would do such a thing. Normally he'd want to complain or call out his husband on this petty power play, but for today he would let it slide.  As if by clockwork, Tony showed up at half past twelve, in a perfectly tailored suit and matching shades. Steve had always thought it was ridiculous that Tony had a pair of sunglasses to go with his every outfit, but now seeing the iconic look, he could only smile. 

“Alright, I’m here,” the other man said shortly, removing his coat and sitting down across from Steve. “What was so necessary that you couldn’t just tell my lawyer about it and had to see me in person?” 

“Tony…” Steve said, smiling, “I’m glad you came.”

“I only have forty minutes, as I have meetings with the board today. So, you better make it quick.”

Steve frowned at Tony’s disregard, but for the sake of remaining civil he, as the saying goes, grinned and beared it. After a moment, his thoughts turned to how he would go about starting this difficult conversation. He wasn’t sure he would be able to adequately explain himself and discuss their relationship in such a short timespan. But if that’s all he had, he’d have to make it work. 

However, before he could even open his mouth to reply, Tony continued, “Have you finally decided to sign the divorce papers I sent you six month ago? Or am I wasting my time?”

“Now, Tony, we haven’t talked properly yet. I won't throw away our entire relationship before we even  _ try _ to fix things between us.” Steve insisted. 

Tony sighed, and removing his sunglasses, he looked the other man in the eye so he couldn’t mistake just how  _ serious _ he was. “Steve,  _ you  _ threw away our relationship. The moment you decided to stick your dick in Barnes, that was the end of everything we had. There is nothing left to fix.  _ We’re done _ .” He stated firmly. (Honestly, Tony was amazed at how calm he was able to sound, even though he was absolutely seething on the inside.)

“Look,  _ I can explain _ . It wasn’t like that…. I still love you. I still want to  _ be  _ with you. Everyone makes mistakes, and I know,  _ I know _ that what I did was the epitome of wrong, but I’m different now! I would  _ never  _ betray you again.” Steve promised. 

“I could have accepted that if it had been just once,” Tony told him softly. “If you’d come to me afterwards… I might have been able to forgive you- we might have been able to work something out. God dammit Steve, I would have understood! But for four  _ months… _ you lied to me, kept Barnes’ very  _ existence _ from me… after that, how could you expect me to trust you  _ ever again _ ?”

“ _ Please… _ . just give me another chance. You may not trust me now, and I don’t expect anything different, but I’ll prove it to you…. We can even go to counselling sessions, if it would make that better for you. We can sort everything out, and have a healthy relationship again. No more mistakes, from either of us.” Steve begged him, all but grovelling. At this point, he would have done  _ anything  _ for Tony to take him back. 

Tony could feel his eyes begin to prickle.  He knew he should not have come…  “I wish Clint and Laura had never thrown that party Steve, I wish I’d never seen you again after you left me the first time. Nothing about us has ever been  _ healthy _ .” By now Tony’s voice had reached that low octave that meant the person he was talking to had truly screwed up. 

“You were controlling and  _ manipulative _ , and you made me think so little of myself that I ended up doing serious damage to my already frayed mental health. The only mistake I ever made, Steve, was _ letting you back into my life _ .” He took a deep breath. “I won’t make that mistake again. I’m sorry, Steve, but it’s over. So do us both a favor and sign the damn papers before I have to take you to court.” 

Having said all that, Tony got up, and left. He didn’t want to hear any of Steve’s excuses anymore. He was  _ done. _

**\---**

Well, that could have gone better….

After his disastrous talk with Tony, he sat in the restaurant a moment longer, dumbfounded. Out of all the scenarios Steve envisioned for their talk to go, this was  _ definitely _ not one of them. At least, none of them had ended so horribly….

Eventually, he snapped himself out of his daze, and quickly got out of there. He didn’t want to give the other customers or waitstaff anymore of a show, since they had already started to stare and whisper…. Angrily, he walked to his car. Why couldn’t Tony, for once, just  _ listen _ to him, let him explain… he’d had the whole conversation planned out in his head, though he barely said anything before Tony had shut him down and forced him to basically beg. 

None of this was  _ fair _ .  Why was he still being punished for a mistake that he was  _ trying _ to atone for? Not that anyone would listen. Tony refused to give him the time of day, Sam’s opinion of him had dropped so low it was any wonder why the man had let him live with him, and he didn’t even want to know what Clint or Natasha thought of him….what Tony may have told them.

And Bucky… Bucky was being even  _ worse _ than Tony. He hadn’t even spoken a word to Steve since storming out on him, after he had found his wedding ring that he had hidden in his wallet. He tried numerous times to contact him afterwards, to no avail. Bucky had seemingly vanished again, but this time, Steve knew that it was intentional. That it was  _ because  _ of him. 

And slowly, it sunk in just how  _ much  _ he had screwed up…how the web of lies he weaved only caused  _ himself _ to become entangled within them, until everything went up in flames. So Steve knew the disaster that happened was of his own making, and he accepted that. But, for the life of him, he just  _ couldn’t _ understand why nobody would let him make things  _ right.   _ He was trying! He was trying so  _ hard _ . But nobody would  _ listen _ to him… It wasn’t fair! 

Getting into his car, Steve sat there with his head against the steering wheel, contemplating where he’d gone wrong. He’d been so adamant about not screwing this up, and he’d been so sure that Tony’s agreeing to see him meant he was ready to listen, to take him back… In his pocket, his phone vibrated, indicating that he’d received an email. Pulling it out, he quickly checked to see who it was from. 

_ J. Walters _ **_,_ ** it announced. Tony’s lawyer. Fantastic. What fresh hell was this going to be about?

 

_ Cpt Steve G. Rogers. _

 

_ I am writing to inform you that as of 13:00 today, _

_ you now have a deadline of 30 days to sign the Divorce Papers that have been in your possession for six months. _

 

_ Failure to do so will result in further legal repercussions pertaining to the Prenuptial Agreement you signed.  _

 

_ Please call my office to make an appointment to return the signed documents. Thank you in advance.  _

 

_ Jennifer Walters, _

_ Attorney _ _ at  _ _ Hogarth and Associates.  _

 

Great. He was going to be sued if he refused to sign. This was just  _ terrific _ . His day could not possibly get any worse. With a sigh, Steve dropped his phone onto the passenger seat and put his keys into the ignition. He needed to talk to a lawyer himself in order to see what he’d be facing if Tony ended up taking him to court. 

One thing was certain: he would _ not _ sign those papers. Not if there was  _ anything _ he could do about it.

**\---**

After that nightmare meeting with Steve, Tony ended up pushing back his meeting with the board. He needed some time to calm down and breathe, and with everything else going wrong in his life, he didn’t want to give them cause to suspect he couldn’t handle his job. 

However, a sudden knock at his door pulled Tony out of his turbulent thoughts, and he frowned. He had told Friday he didn’t want to be disturbed, there were only three people who had unrestricted access to his office. Since Peter was at school and Rhody was out of the country, that meant Friday had probably called Pepper and told her where he’d gone. 

Relenting to the inevitable, Tony called out for her to come in, not bothering to lift his head from his desk. After all, he knew from experience that if he tried to push her away, she’d be insufferable. The door opened, and the telltale sound of Pepper’s stilettos on the hardwood floor of his office told him he was right. She rounded his desk and pulled his head up off the desk to rest against her, wrapping him up in her arms. Tony soaked up the warmth of her hug for a moment, just letting himself feel safe in his best friend and CEO’s arms for a moment. He didn’t realise how much he needed this until now. 

“What happened?” She asked him softly. And he told her everything. He needed this, just to vent. Not even twenty minutes together face-to-face with Steve and it had managed to utterly devastate him. Steve had learned _nothing_ ; he was still trying make excuses for his actions and refusing to understand why Tony couldn’t take him back…

It was just all just too much.

“I never should have gone,” Tony confessed. “I should have just directed him back to Jennifer. Agreeing to see him was a mistake.” 

“Oh, Tony…” Pepper whispered. She ran her fingers comfortingly though his hair, trying to soothe him, “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this-  _ any  _ of this. I wish there was something I could do” She thought for minute.“You spoke to Jenifer after you left, right?” Tony nodded. “Well what did she tell you? I assume she asked you not to see him alone again” 

He sighed, and nodded again. “Told me not to speak to him without her present,” he mumbled. “She also told me she’d give him thirty days to sign or we would take it to court. I wanted to settle this without getting the courts involved, but from the way he was today I don’t think that’ll be happening…” Pepper made a noise of understanding, “she also said that it was a good thing you made us sign the prenup. It’ll make everything much easier and he won’t be able to get his hands on any of my money or the company. So that’s good, I guess…”

Honestly, Pepper didn’t understand why Steve refused to just sign the paperwork. She had read it over herself, and it was actually a really good deal Tony had offered; for half of their joint assets from the marriage, and the house Tony had built for them when they moved to the suburb were to be Steve’s, to pretty much do with what he wished. Few would be stupid enough to turn down an offer like that. He was only fooling himself by thinking that Tony would  _ ever  _ take him back. Though, if she'd had her way, she would have  _ ruined _ him after everything he put her best friend through. “Good. Hopefully he’ll stop being such an idiot and just  _ sign _ already,” Pepper grumbled. “He’ll be screwed if you end up taking him to court. There is no way he’d find a lawyer as good as Jennifer to represent him. Regardless,  no more than two or three months, and you’ll never have to deal with him again.” 

Tony looked up at her and smiled, “Thanks Pep,” he said gratefully, but then his expression dimmed, and the look in his eyes turned sad. “But I just want this to be over now… I want to be done so I can move on properly…. so long as we are still married it’s like he still has some sort of hold on me….” 

Oh, how Pepper  _ wished _ there was something more she could do for him. She wondered if she should get in touch with Rogers herself, and see if there was any way she could persuade the damn man into agreeing to doing the right thing  _ for once  _ in his life _. _ But, unfortunately, that could just cause more potential problems, and she didn’t want Tony to have any more reason to stress. So for now, Pepper just rested her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, conveying her silent support.  Sighing, Tony reluctantly disentangled himself from her embrace.”Sorry Pep, but I’d like to be alone for a bit… do you mind?” he asked softly.

Pepper agreed, despite not wanting to leave Tony like this. It hurt to see him so upset, but she understood the need to be alone, though she decided that she’ll still come back later to check on him before leaving for the day. “Of course, Tony. Call me if you need anything.” 

Pepper left the room and closed the door behind her, walking over to Friday’s desk where the woman was diligently working through her duties for the day. “Check in on him, will you?” she asked.“And let me know how he’s doing?” 

Friday looked up from her computer to the other woman, and gave her a tight smile, “Understood, Miss Potts.” Pepper returned the smile before heading back up to her own office. She had a company that needed to be run, after all. 

**\---**

After such an exhausting day, Tony was glad to be home. Closing his eyes and resting his head against the door to his apartment, he just stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t long before he heard the door across the hall open and Stephen exited.  

“Tony, how was your day?” The doctor asked, giving him a soft smile.

Tony opened his eyes and returned the gesture, though his was more tired. Since the afternoon in his apartment the two had began to form a sort of friendship -- well if you consider flirting and snarking one another becoming friends, which Tony did. “Tiring. My ex is driving me crazy, and rescheduling meetings with the board of directors at work is driving me up the wall,” he replied, pushing himself off the door and crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Sounds exhausting. I’m about to go make a pot of tea, would you like to come in? You can vent about your day and I can avoid the growing mess that is my post-medical ‘career’ for a while longer.”  Stephen offered, pointing towards his own apartment just down the hall. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, “You were just leaving your apartment.” 

“Just to check the mail, nothing important that can’t wait an hour or two”

Tony grinned, accepting the doctor’s words “Do you have coffee? Not really a tea drinker.”

At that Stephen just shook his head and let out a pleasant laugh, waving the other man over. “Trust me, after you’ve tried my tea you might just change mind.” With that, the two headed into Stephen’s apartment for an afternoon of tea, interesting conversation and, of course, some light flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter down!!! two more chapters and an Epilogue to go!! hopefully i'll have the fic finished and fully posted by this time next week!! 
> 
> Anywho, hope everyone enjoyed it!! 💙


	7. Bargaining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Visits a Lawyer  
> Bucky contemplates getting a new Phone  
> Peter and Tony go to Dance Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah Boi!~ Another chapter down!! 
> 
> This one is where all my research into divorce became relevant! 
> 
> Also, I tried something new for the Bucky segment of this chapter, i'd love some feedback on it. 
> 
> Anyway!! Enjoy the chapter!

Nelson and Murdock were one of the best small time law firms in New York. They were defence attorneys with an incredible success rate, and Steve hoped that they could help him with his dilemma.   

“Mr. Rogers, please take a seat. Mr Nelson and Mr Murdock are just finishing up a meeting right now, they’ll be with you shortly,” The receptionist told him, motioning to the old-looking chairs to her right. 

Steve nodded, taking a seat and opening the folder he’d brought along. It contained the divorce papers, Tony’s settlement offer, and printed copies of the emails he’d received from Tony’s lawyer. Skimming over everything one last time, Steve waited only a few minutes before the office door opened and a dark haired woman made her way to the door, bidding the two men goodbye. Steve closed his folder, and stood up when one of the men came over to him. 

“Mr. Rogers, I’m Foggy Nelson and this is my partner, Matthew Murdock. Thanks for waiting. Please come in,” The man greeted, shaking Steve’s hand before beckoning him towards the office. Once the office door was closed and they were all seated, Foggy began, “Your email said you needed representation as your husband is divorcing you.  Would you be able to expand on that?”

“Of course. I also brought with me everything I’ve been sent by my husband’s lawyer for you to go over as you asked,” Steve said, handing the folder to Foggy. He opened it, pulling out two files. Foggy handed the one labeled BRAIL to his partner to go over.  

“Tony left me about eight months ago, and I was served the divorce papers almost two months later. The settlement offer came a few weeks after that.”

Both lawyers took a few moments to read over the documents. “Alright. Well, from what I can gather, your husband’s offer is incredibly generous. Did your prenup include these conditions prior to the end of your relationship or was there anything else in them that you were meant to get that you didn’t?” Matthew asked, once he’d finished going over the settlement offer paperwork in front of him. 

Steve shook his head, before remembering the man couldn’t see him, “No, our prenup was only there to protect his company and assets in case we ever ended things on bad terms. If not for the offer Tony’s lawyer made, the house and well over half our marital assets would have remained with him, but I’m not here to get anything out of Tony or his company. I just want to find a way to stop Walters from taking this to court. I love my husband and do not wish to go through with this divorce.” 

At that, both lawyers gave Steve an odd look, like he was speaking a foreign language or something they could not comprehend. “Okay… Mr. Rogers, you cheated on your husband. By all marital laws, Mr. Stark has every right to file for an At-Fault divorce and legally, you can not force someone to remain married to you if they do not want to.” Matt Murdock said flatly, and in a rather simple manner, as if trying to explain it to a child. 

Foggy continued, “adultery is a  _ very _ valid reason to request a divorce, and if this case  _ were _ to go to a court of law you would not only lose the case but almost certainly the very good offer that was made to you. Our only suggestion to you would be to go along with the request and agree to sign.” Foggy paused for a moment, to let that sink in. “Mr. Rogers, if all you came to us for was to try and stop a very legal and reasonable dispute, then I’m very sorry, but we can’t help you.” He closed the folder in front of him and slid it back towards Steve. 

Steve sighed and looked down at his hands. “I understand that what I did was wrong, and I screwed up. Right now, I just want time… time to try and fix this. Isn’t there any way to extend the deadline?”

Foggy shook his head, “I’m sorry Mr. Rogers, but from what you’ve said and I’ve read,  you have had eight months to try and fix your relationship. If Mr. Stark is still going through with filing for divorce, I doubt there is really anything you or anyone else can do about stopping it... I’m sorry.”

**\---**

________ June 17th ________

 

**(11) Missed Calls from Stevie**

 

 **Message Received:** _09:23 PM_

_ Stevie: Bucky please! Pick up, I can explain. _

**_[Message Read: 09:27 PM]_ **

 

 **Message Received:** _09:38 PM_

_ Stevie: Bucky, please call me back! We need to talk! _

**_[Message Read: 09:40 PM]_ **

 

________ June 19th ________

 

**(13) Missed Calls from Stevie**

 

**Message Received:** _ 12:27 PM _

_ Stevie: Tony’s Gone! What did you say to him?  _

_ Stevie: BUCKY! ANSWER ME! _

_ Stevie: Please…  _

**_[Message Read: 01:14 PM]_ **

 

**(22) Missed Calls from Stevie**

________ June 20th ________

 

**_Message Received: [BLOCKED NUMBER]_ **

_ THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE  _

_ A caller you have blocked is attempting to contact you _

_ For further information please call 1900 *** *** **  _

 

________ June 24th ________

 

**_Message Received: [BLOCKED NUMBER]_ **

_ THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE  _

_ A caller you have blocked is attempting to contact you _

_ For further information please call 1900 *** *** **  _

 

________ July 7th ________

 

**_Message Received: [BLOCKED NUMBER]_ **

_ THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE  _

_ A caller you have blocked is attempting to contact you _

_ For further information please call 1900 *** *** **  _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

________ December 24th ________

**_Message Received: [BLOCKED NUMBER]_ **

_ THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE  _

_ A caller you have blocked is attempting to contact you _

_ For further information please call 1900 *** *** **  _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

________ Feb 5th ________

**_Message Received: [BLOCKED NUMBER]_ **

_ THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE  _

_ A caller you have blocked is attempting to contact you _

_ For further information please call 1900 *** *** **  _

 

Bucky grimaced, looking at the latest notification. He’d hoped that by now Steve would have finally gotten the hint that he wanted nothing to do with the man. He guessed that was just too much to ask for.

Maybe he should just get a new phone number….

**\---**

Peter was _ ecstatic _ . After taking a year off, he was finally going back to dancing. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it until his father brought up the subject of him re-starting it again now that they had settled back down. 

Apparently, Madam Romanov (or Auntie Nat as he preferred to call her) wanted her star pupil back too. Once she’d received an email from them telling her he was ready to come back to the studio, she had immediately called them to give Peter all the info he’d need to be prepared and ready for classes. He’d been so excited by the prospect of going back that he bought himself all new gear to celebrate. Now decked out in everything but his new shoes, Peter was bouncing around the apartment as he waited for his dad to get ready to leave. 

“Alright kiddo, let's get out of here. Natasha  _ will  _ murder me if we are late for your first day back, and I have no desire to test her,” Tony shuddered, looking away briefly as he remembered the first time he tried to, “she once told me that as a ballerina she had the physical dexterity to strangle a man with her feet, and that is  _ definitely _ not the way I want to die, “ he said firmly, walking out into the entryway to join Peter. “That or she might try and make me stay at the studio to break me down, in order to show all of you what happens when you get old and out of practice.”

Laughing, Peter picked up his duffel bag. “Then we better not be late! Wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself,” he quipped, heading out into the hall.

His father shook his head in amusement and followed the boy out. 

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the studio. Peter jumped out of the car eagerly, rushing towards the entrance, Tony walking behind at a more sedate pace. They entered through the front door and headed straight for Studio A, where Natasha and the other students in the class were going through stretches and warm-ups. 

It doesn’t take Nat long to spot them, and she waved the two over. “Hey Peter, glad to have you back!” she grinned. “I see you got yourself some new stuff. Looks good.” 

“Thanks, Aunt Nat.” Peter smiled shyly. 

“Alright kid, why don’t you join the rest of the group for warm-ups while your dad and I have a word,” Natasha said, giving him a push towards his classmates.

Peter nodded and gave his dad a wave, heading over to join the others. Once Peter was out of earshot, Natasha turned to Tony with a more serious expression on her face. Tony gave her an  exasperated look, already anticipating what she was going to ask.“You don’t have to say anything, I’m fine!” he said wryly. He had seen that look on too many of his friends faces in the last couple of months, so he knew what it meant. He didn’t want Nat’s pity, or for her to take his side. She had been friends with both him and Steve, he wasn’t going to ask her to pick one of them over the other. That wouldn’t be fair, for  _ either _ of them. 

“Tony, I have known you for a  _ very  _ long time, and I know that you’re not okay. But I also know that you don’t like talking about your feelings. God knows I don’t either…. then again, I’m Russian.” Nat smirked, always the joker. Though, it was her usual defense mechanism, just as much as it was his. “I’m not going to ask if your okay, and I won’t ask how you’re doing… I…I just want to know that you’re safe… that you’re not shutting yourself away or burying yourself under the weight of what happened between you and Steve. Or blaming yourself for things that were never your fault.”

“Thanks Nat… and really, I’m okay. Not great, but okay,” he sighed. “I’m seeing a therapist, spending time with Pete- and hell, I’m pretty sure I’ve been flirting with my new neighbour for the last couple of weeks too. I’m not falling back into my bad habits… I promise!” Giving her an honest smile, Natasha assessed him for a moment longer and satisfied, she returned the gesture before pulling him into her embrace. 

Pulling back, Natasha looked over her shoulder to see her class who had finished warm-ups and where now running themselves through a few drills. “Well, I had better start the session. Parents are not paying my exorbitant fees for me to sit back and gossip, “ she joked. 

“Go to class, Teach! If my boy isn’t a mess of aches and pains tonight, I’ll be complaining to management,” Tony replied, teasing. 

Laughing, Natasha walked over to the students and began her class. Tony watched for a moment more, feeling his heart lighten at the sight before him. He smiled quietly to himself and left, deciding he might as well go visit a certain peculiar doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this chapter over there is only one more chapter and then the Epilogue to go! 
> 
> Depending on what work is like tomorrow will depend on if the next chapter will be out tomorrow or Wednesday, Tuesday's can be hectic. 
> 
> Anywho~ Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Remember, Comments and Kudo's are what keep me going! 
> 
> (Also, i've started a new Project! It's a BNHA one, and once i've finished this fic, that'll be the thing taking up all my attention!! so if your interested go check it out! @Neon-Crayons #Yami Writes)


	8. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve signs the papers...  
> Tony contemplates whats next for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... here is the last official chapter of this fic, just the Epilogue to go. 
> 
> God... I started writing the outline for this fic all the way back in June of 2018, and finished it in November... five months of our lives went into this fic, Crystal and i absolutely pored our hearts and souls into writing this story... and just seeing it completed. it makes me unbelievably happy. 
> 
> and i'm so happy with all the positive feedback we've gotten, not just from the many people that helped us write this story and really make it into what it is today, but to every one of you that left us such wonderful Comments and all the Kudo's!! Y'all are the real MVP's! 
> 
> Anyway. please enjoy the chapter!! 💙💙💙

As Tony stood in the elevator heading up to his Lawyer’s office, he thought about everything it took to reach this point. He wondered what it was that finally made Steve call Jennifer and agree to finally sign the papers. Everything up until this moment had felt like a losing battle, but here they were… at the end, with him coming out as the victor. It was almost too hard to believe, but here they were. The elevator dinged, startling him out of his thoughts and alerting him that he’d arrived. He took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself for what lay ahead, and then stepped out into the hallway.

Reaching the door labeled ‘ _ J. Walters _ ’ Tony knocked sharply. After a few seconds, it was pulled open and a tall, beautiful dark-haired woman in a pantsuit exited the room. “Tony, good to see you again. You’re right on time,” she greeted him. “Rogers and his lawyer got here not too long ago. I set them up in the conference room just down the hall”

Tony nodded, and together they headed down towards the aforementioned meeting place. They arrived a few minutes before the scheduled time, and Jennifer tapped on the door to announce their presence before entering the room, not waiting for any sort of confirmation that they could enter. “Gentlemen, now that we’re all here, let us begin,” she said. 

They sat down at the table, Tony being careful not to look Steve’s way. He could feel him staring though. For almost half an hour, Jennifer and Mr. Nelson went back and forth over the terms of the offers made and how they would be splitting up their joint assets. Tony didn’t really care either way- none of it mattered to him, so long as when he left this office he was officially divorced. Hell, Steve could leave with everything and it wouldn’t phase him just so long as he signed his name on the dotted line. Once everything was outlined and finalised, Jennifer opened up the last of their files and placed a set of documents in front of Tony with a pen. “Alright, this is the last of it. Just sign here and this will all be official,” she informed them both. 

Tony took them and quickly put his signature on the indicated line, never once glancing up or hesitating before pushing them across the table to Steve. He, on the other hand, held up the pen and gazed at the papers for a long moment, expression torn. If he signed, it would all be over. “Tony, can we have a word alone?” Steve pleaded, putting the pen down and looking up at his…well,  he wasn’t his husband. Not anymore. “Please?”

“No. I’m sorry Steve, but I can’t… I wont. This is it.” Tony turned in his chair to face his former husband head on.“What you did was unforgivable -- you hurt me in a way I never believed you could. You lied, cheated, and broke my heart beyond what I thought was repairable. But I’m moving on, and trying to put myself back together, and if I’m to do that, I can’t have you in my life. I can’t. I loved you, Steve. With every part of my heart and soul, but it’s over.”

Steve could feel his eyes begin to water, and shutting them tightly, he grasped the pen tight enough that the plastic cracked slightly. “Okay,” he breathed out and putting the pen to paper, he signed his name. 

For the first time in almost a year, Steve got to see Tony smile again, even if it wasn’t a happy one. “Thank you,” he said quietly. 

After a few more minutes in which Jennifer went over the paperwork herself, notarizing and dating everything that she needed to, she finally set them down. “And that’s it. I’ll send this off to the judge after we are done to have that last signatures added and finalized. But, as of this moment you’re officially divorced,” she announced, more to Tony than anyone else. At those words, Steve got up and left the room, not able to sit there another minute longer. Foggy got up as well, “Miss Walters, Mr. Stark,” he said, shaking both their hands and heading out after his client. 

Once the door had closed behind him, Tony let out a breath and slumped back in his chair, That tense meeting had almost been to much for him to take. But, at least now it was all over… he was free. And with that thought, Tony laughed in relief. He felt more bright and carefree than he had been in  _ far _ too long.

It was finally  _ over.  _

**\---**

When Tony entered Maria’s office that afternoon, he looked to be on cloud nine. Like there was nothing in the world that could bring him down from his high. It was the happiest she’d seen the man in the weeks they had been seeing each other. “You seem to be in a good mood,” she observed,  as he sat down across from her. 

“As of a few hours ago, I am officially divorced. I could not be happier!” Tony told her, in a voice of utter delight. “And Pete’s doing really good as well- he’s doing great in school, and he’s back to his dance classes. Plus, I’m finally getting back into the groove of things with my company. What is there to  _ not _ be in a good mood about?” 

“Well, that’s a lot of big changes from our last meeting, I’m really happy to hear that things are turning round for you,” Maria smiled, genuinely glad for her patient. He was making leaps and bounds towards getting himself better.  It was things like this that made her decide to become a therapist in the first place. Seeing such results for the people she helped made everything worth it. 

“Yeah, so am I,” he sighed, “at first, I didn’t believe it would end up like this. I thought Steve might try to extend things out for even longer, and make the process all  _ that _ much harder than it needed to be…. but,” Tony paused for a second, almost like he was still trying to wrap his head around it. “For some reason, he didn’t. Steve actually came around, and agreed to sign. I don’t know what it was that made him change his mind, but I’m so glad he did.”

 “Hmm, it sounds like Steve finally realised that what he was doing wasn’t helping anyone, and would only end up hurting you in the end and probably ruin any chance of the two of you being able to coexist or even be civil with one another in the future.” 

“Maybe… I don’t know. All I care about is that it’s over and… I’m free. I can finally move on with my life.”

Maria looked at him for a moment, taking in everything he had just said. She understood the sentiment, the idea that someone could have the kind of hold on you, that finally being freed of them could have such and profound impact on them and the way they look at not only themselves but the world. “Well, what do you plan to do next?” 

“I don’t know… this is all I’ve wanted for months. I’ve hardly thought about what I would do after; was so afraid it wouldn’t end that I didn’t want to think of what would come next…” Looking down at his hands and letting out a laugh, Tony turned his attention back to Maria. “Maybe I’ll take my eccentric doctor friend out a date,” he chuckled.

“Well, whatever you choose to do, just remember to _ keep moving forward. _ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said a bunch in my opening notes, so here i'll just say thank you for reading our fic, we really do appreciate every single person who has come along and given this story a read.
> 
> Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the final update tomorrow. Thank you so much for reading!!! 💙💙💙


	9. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets ready for his date  
> Peter reflects on what a family is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... here it is, the end. 
> 
> Read and Enjoy!~ 💙
> 
> ALSO! Here is the art created by the wonderfull @tk-a for this fic!  
> http://neon-crayons.tumblr.com/post/183910173890/

The last few months have had so many ups and downs, that Peter had been afraid that things would never return to any semblance of normal. And yet, here they were-  Peter and his friends doing homework while his dad ran around fretting about what he was going to wear out for his date. Shuri and Loki were judging his every choice with their critical eye for fashion, while they worked on advanced calculus. And all begrudged Loki for being homeschooled and not having Math homework due in on Monday. 

“Alright kids, what about this one?” Tony asked them, coming out and twirling in a crisp three piece black on black suit. Loki gave him a quick look over. “Hot. You have a nice red tie to go with?” Everyone turned to look at him like he was insane.

“Loki, I’m pretty sure my dad has a tie in every shade of red there is.” Tony did not deny this. He headed back to his bedroom and came back out with several red ties hanging from his arm. “Which one?” he asked. 

Sitting up so he could get a better view to them, Loki looked long and hard before he took three of them from him and handed them to Shuri. “Narrowed it down... what one do you think?” 

Concentrating more on the ties than on her homework, Shuri gazed at them as if this was one of the most important decisions she’d ever make in her life. “Scarlet Pinstripe,” she announced finally.  

Loki nodded in agreement, and handed back the three ties he’d taken, separating the chosen one from the others as he did. “You heard the lady- Scarlet with Pinstripes. Strange won't be able to keep able to keep his hands off you.” Loki smirks, while the rest of the teenagers began to make gagging sounds. 

“Gross dude, that’s our dad you’re talking about!” Ned said, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper at him. 

Tony just laughed at their antics, and headed back to his room to finish getting ready now that he had his outfit sorted. The teens returned to their work while occasionally still throwing things at one another. By the time Tony had re-emerged, there was an astonishing mess of paper balls, pens and markers strewn about the area. It looked as if a bomb had hit the place. It amazed him how much of a mess teenagers could create with so little in such a small amount of time. 

“Well, I’ll be out late. You guys can fend for yourselves and get home safely, right?” They just all rolled their eyes, nodding at his overprotectiveness, though they did privately all appreciate his care, even if they would never admit it out loud. “JARVIS will also be watching you guys, so I expect homework to be done and this mess to be cleaned up before you do anything fun.” 

“Sir, yes sir,” Peter saluted. Tony laughed, and ruffled the boy’s hair. 

It wasn’t that much later that there was a rap at the door, and Tony nervously fiddled with his tie, before quickly going to answer it. 

“Hi,” Stephen smiled, once the door was open, giving Tony a good once over. 

“Hi yourself,” Tony replied, blushing at the smirk that settled on Stephen’s lips once he finished looking, “you ready to go?” 

The doctor nodded, and leaned in to whisper in Tony’s ear, “I’ve gotta say, you look  _ really _ good tonight.”

Tony’s flush strengthened, and he managed to stammer out a, ‘“thanks, you too.” Right before he could step out the door, Peter came rushing out, stopping in the hallway just before the door. 

“Remember the rule, dad! Don’t stay out too late, have fun, and-” 

“AND IF YOU DON’T GET ANY, DON’T BOTHER COMING HOME” MJ shouted from the living room, causing Stephen to turn just as bright a shade of red as Tony.

“My future daughter-in-law everyone,” Tony muttered.

Laughing and shaking his head, Peter all but pushed Tony out the door. “What she said. I’ll see you when you get home!” With that, he shut the door and headed back to his friends. 

Seeing them all continue to mess around he just stood there and smiled. His dad, his friends, and maybe the strange doctor down the hall….sometimes, that's all a family needed to be.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did y'all think? this is probably the happiest ending I've ever written. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, I had so much fun writing this!
> 
> Feel free to leave me a comment, let me know what you thought of the story, and if you liked the ending. 
> 
> Regards Yami & Crystal~


End file.
